Problem: The geometric sequence $(a_i)$ is defined by the formula: $a_i = -8 \left(\dfrac{1}{2}\right)^{i - 1}$ What is $a_{2}$, the second term in the sequence?
Answer: From the given formula, we can see that the first term of the sequence is $-8$ and the common ratio is $\dfrac{1}{2}$ The second term is simply the first term times the common ratio. Therefore, the second term is equal to $a_2 = -8 \cdot \dfrac{1}{2} = -4$.